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11.19.2013

Check, check, check!

I picked up 5 of my 6 prescriptions tonight. Tomorrow I'll pickup the last one.

Last night I made several marinades from onions, citrus, and several other ingredients.  Tomorrow I'll grill my first batch of chicken to take for lunch on Thursday.

I'm a little nervous to start the pre-op but excited at the same time. I made a realization the other night that I'm only 2 (now 1) days away from my new beginning. 

I read a post on Facebook today from a girl who is a year post op. She suggested making a video, now, at my beginning, to my future self as a means of encouragement. In the video I should tell myself why I'm doing this so that later, when I'm feeling discouraged I can watch it and get a pep talk from my fat self. She didn't say that part, but it's the truth.  I'm definitely going to do that. 

So close!

11.13.2013

Wahoo!

It's official, I'm approved!

((((Booty shaking happy dance))))

I got the call this morning.  Technically I knew already.  I called my insurance company yesterday to ensure they received my file from the doctor's office & they informed me of the approval.  I was giddy but didn't want to get too excited until I received the final word from my doctor.  This morning nurse Becky called to tell me the good news & give me the go-ahead to fill my prescriptions.

Three weeks from tomorrow I'll be headed to the operating room & on my way to a new life.  

3.  Wow.  

I can't believe it's nearly here.  I start my pre-op on Thursday, a week from tomorrow.  My BFF says she'll suffer through it with me.  I keep telling her she doesn't need to do that but I think she's enticed by the prospect of losing some weight! 

11.11.2013

Waiting sucks.  

I called BCBS today to ensure they received my case/file from the doctor's office and they don't have anything yet.  She did tell me that it can take a few days to be uploaded to my file and that Mondays are hectic.  So I called my doctor's office to be sure it was submitted and they confirmed everything got sent over on Thursday.  

Hurry up and wait. 

I ordered another protein flavor from Syntrax: chocolate truffle.  It's yummy and tastes like hot chocolate. 

I also ordered liquid calcium citrate to take right after surgery since I'll be on a liquid diet.  That is NOT so yummy.  I'll be mixing it into my protein drinks I think!

I finished up my COM class and am still in CIS, nearing the end of the semester with a 93%.  I'm trying to decide if I want to change my major to paralegal; my work will pay for certain degrees and dietetics isn't one of them.  Ah the decisions of being a grow up!

I guess I should get myself through this before I try to make any other decisions...

11.07.2013

done and done.

My final appointment went well.  I am confirmed for 8:00am on Dec 5th, provided that insurance approves everything.  I'm the first surgery of the day so I have to be there at 6:00am.  I have the paperwork for my pre-op diet and all of the questions I had written down were answered as well.  I ordered another canister of protein powder to ensure my pantry is well stocked for my pre op diet and stage 1-2 of post op.  I'll be shopping next weekend for everything else I need.  I start my pre-op diet Nov 21.  The doctor wrote me 6 7 prescriptions.  Six Seven.  In all of the readings and research nobody ever talked about the prescriptions:
  • antibiotics (2) to be taken the day before surgery.  These will clean out my system and I should expect to be feeling icky that day.  My plan is to work from home.
  • Liquid pain meds (2) for after surgery.  Self explanatory.
  • Anti-nausea meds (2).  I guess it's common to feel sick from the anesthesia but even more common for sleeve patients to feel sick for 3-5 days following the procedure.  The doc normally gives 1 prescription (patches) but he also gave me tablets that dissolve under my tongue.
  • Lovenox.  This is an injection that I will have to give myself daily after surgery to prevent clots.
Variety is the spice of life!  So just as soon as I get clearance I'll fill my prescriptions and pack my hospital bag so I'm prepared.  So close yet so far!

On another note, my sister and her family are coming to town for Thanksgiving.  I'm so excited to see them!  Thanksgiving will be interesting since I'm only allowed to eat turkey, but I can do this. :)
While she's here we're finishing our tattoos.  In 2010 my son & I moved back to AZ from NH.  She and my mom flew there to help us drive back.  While there we each got matching nautical star tattoos with the intention of finishing them when we got back to AZ but we never did.  Now that she's moved to CO (earlier this year) we decided it's time we finished them.  I made our appointments today!

Ok enough for now... I'll end on this: my friend & I are going to enjoy a spa day on Saturday.  I've only had one once before, right after my son was born 10 years ago!  I'm SO looking forward to this.

11.05.2013

Nesting

So here I am on the eve of my final nutritional appointment and my pre-op visit.  My surgery date is still set for Dec 5.  What am I up to?  Cleaning.  Yep, you read that correctly.

Let me back up here.  I should preface this by telling you that I hate cleaning.  I. Hate. Cleaning.  Yes, I know that should go without saying but there are those few cuckoos  out there who actually enjoy it.

I decided last Saturday that I would tackle one mess at a time leading up to my surgery date so that I don't have to sit here for two weeks afterward staring at a mess that I won't be able to do anything much about.  Ordinarily I sit here every Saturday, relaxing after a long week and do my best to will the messes away only to find that they're still taunting me on Sunday night.  But for some reason I suddenly have a bug up my ass to do something about it and, get this, the will power.  Which brings me to the conclusion that we really do have this natural instinct to prepare ourselves for big changes in our lives, hence the title of today's post.  I did this when I went into labor with my son, nearly 10 years ago.  I was gingerly mopping the kitchen floor when mother nature decided she had other plans.

In preparation for my surgery I have been doing some shopping, mostly on Amazon.  My pantry is now stocked with 2 lbs of protein powder, a case of Ensure Clear, calcium chews, fitness water mix (turns ordinary water into electrolyte water), 1 lb unflavored protein powder, fiber, and a blender bottle (1 of 2).  Tomorrow I'm expecting delivery of liquid calcium with D3 since I won't be allowed to have the chews for my first several weeks.  I also have sub-lingual B complex in the medicine cabinet.  I'm getting there!  This weekend, maybe, I'll start shopping for my pre and post op items such as canned tuna, chicken breast, broths, Jell-o, etc.  I did buy a Ninja this weekend to blend my protein shakes and puree my soups and foods when I start eating those things again.  Thankfully the protein power I bought blends pretty well in the blender bottles so it will be easy on the go.  I think the Ninja will be nice for milk based drinks or when I want to add ice for milkshake types.  YUM!

I will start my pre-op diet 2 weeks from tomorrow and my surgery is 4 weeks from Thursday.  Whoa. I can remember feeling like it was SO far away and now it's nearly here.

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